Word of the Day for Wednesday March 8, 2006 perambulate \puh-RAM-byuh-layt\, intransitive verb: 1. To walk about; to roam; to stroll; as, "he perambulated in the park." transitive verb: 1. To walk through or over. 2. To travel over for the purpose of surveying or inspecting. Every weekend, the police close off ten to fifteen blocks of some Manhattan avenue. The merchants line the curbs, and the New Yorkers slowly perambulate up and down. -- Richard Brookhiser, "Island Bazaar," [1]National Review, July 1, 2002 At Syon, we perambulate a succession of rooms of the greatest magnificence, beginning with the entrance hall, with an apse of columns -- characteristic of Adam, all dazzling whiteness. -- A. L. Rowse, "At Home with History in London," [2]New York Times, January 19, 1986 If you don't like boats -- and it's surprising how many people who come here don't like boats -- you can perambulate the shoreline, take a swim, sit in the lounge and read, or do nothing more than sit on the dock -- Eric Kraft, [3]Leaving Small's Hotel She liked to perambulate the room with a duster in her hand, with which she stopped to polish the backs of already lustrous books, musing and romancing as she did so. -- Virginia Woolf, [4]Night and Day _________________________________________________________ Perambulate comes from Latin per-, "through" + ambulare, "to walk." The noun form is perambulation. References 1. http://www.nationalreview.com/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ 3. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312206607/ref=nosim/lexico 4. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140185682/ref=nosim/lexico Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=perambulate